Typically an <strong>acct URI</strong> is used to turn an <strong>e-mail address</strong> or <ziba-linkname="id">Fediverse ID</ziba-link> into a URL / URI.
(There are reasons why one might want to turn a pointer or identifier that isn' a URL / URI into a URL / URI.)
</p>
<p>
For example, this <ziba-linkname="id">Fediverse ID</ziba-link>:
Most users of the <strong>Fediverse</strong> aren't aware of <strong>acct URI</strong>s.
And really, they don't have to be aware of them!
</p>
</section>
<section>
<h2>Fediverse Programmers</h2>
<p>
But behind the scenes, <strong>acct URI</strong>s are used by <ziba-linkname="softwware">Fediverse software</ziba-link>.
</p>
<p>
Behind the scenes, a <ziba-linkname="id">Fediverse ID</ziba-link> is turned into a <strong>acct URI</strong>, and then that <strong>acct URI</strong> is used to in a request to <ziba-linktransform="lowercase">WebFinger</ziba-link> .
</p>
<p>
If you are a <strong>programmer</strong> / <strong>software engineer</strong> / <strong>software developer</strong> / etc, then you may need to be aware of <strong>acct URI</strong>s, and have some level of understanding of them.
Part of the process of <strong>resolving</strong> a <strong>Fediverse ID</strong> transfomrs a <strong>Fediverse ID</strong> into an <ziba-linkdir=".."transform="lowercase">acct URI</ziba-link>.
(And then using that <ziba-linkdir=".."transform="lowercase">acct URI</ziba-link> version of the <strong>Fediverse ID</strong> makes a request to <ziba-linkdir=".."transform="lowercase">WebFinger</ziba-link>.)
</p>
<p>
Here is an example of transforming a <strong>Fediverse ID</strong> into an <ziba-linkdir=".."transform="lowercase">acct URI</ziba-link>:
</p>
<pre>
at sign
↓
@joeblow@example.com ← Fediverse ID
acct:joeblow@example.com ← acct URI
↑
no at sign
</pre>
<p>
A client would then make a request to:
</p>
<pre>
https://example.com/.well-known/host-meta
</pre>
<p>
To discover what the (template) URL for <ziba-linkdir=".."transform="lowercase">WebFinger</ziba-link> is.